IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v9y2022i1d10.1057_s41599-022-01239-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Race- and gender-based under-representation of creative contributors: art, fashion, film, and music

Author

Listed:
  • Chad M. Topaz

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
    Williams College)

  • Jude Higdon

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
    Bennington College)

  • Avriel Epps-Darling

    (Harvard University)

  • Ethan Siau

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
    Northwestern University)

  • Harper Kerkhoff

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity)

  • Shivani Mendiratta

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
    Brown University)

  • Eric Young

    (Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
    University of Colorado)

Abstract

Motivated by the well-established benefits to society of artistic creation and of demographic diversity, we investigate the gender and racial/ethnic composition of influential contributors to four creative domains. Women make up 51% of the U.S. population but are underrepresented at influential levels of contemporary art (28%), high fashion (45%), box office film (27%), and popular music (17%). Marginalized racial/ethnic groups make up 39% of the U.S. population yet comprise approximately half that figure in contemporary art (22%), high fashion (22%), and box office film (19%). Black musical artists have higher representation (48%), though higher representation does not equate with equity and inclusion. As for intersecting identities, white men are overrepresented in all four domains by factors ranging from 1.4 to 2 as compared to the U.S. population, and most other gender-racial/ethnic groups are further minoritized. Our study is the first comprehensive, comparative, empirical look at intersecting identities across creative fields. The exclusion of marginalized individuals, including those who are women, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latinx, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, is severe. The lack of self-expressed demographic data is a challenge, as is the erasure of certain identity groups from the American Community Survey, including agender, gender noncomforming, nonbinary, and transgender individuals. These are challenges that, if addressed, would enhance our collective understanding of diversity in creative fields.

Suggested Citation

  • Chad M. Topaz & Jude Higdon & Avriel Epps-Darling & Ethan Siau & Harper Kerkhoff & Shivani Mendiratta & Eric Young, 2022. "Race- and gender-based under-representation of creative contributors: art, fashion, film, and music," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:9:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-022-01239-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-022-01239-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-022-01239-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-022-01239-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chad M Topaz & James Cart & Carrie Diaz Eaton & Anelise Hanson Shrout & Jude A Higdon & Kenan İnce & Brian Katz & Drew Lewis & Jessica Libertini & Christian Michael Smith, 2020. "Comparing demographics of signatories to public letters on diversity in the mathematical sciences," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Luís A Nunes Amaral & João A G Moreira & Murielle L Dunand & Heliodoro Tejedor Navarro & Hyojun Ada Lee, 2020. "Long-term patterns of gender imbalance in an industry without ability or level of interest differences," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    4. Adams, Renée & Kräussl, Roman & Navone, Marco & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2018. "Is gender in the eye of the beholder? Identifying cultural attitudes with art auction prices," CFS Working Paper Series 595, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    5. Chad M Topaz & Shilad Sen, 2016. "Gender Representation on Journal Editorial Boards in the Mathematical Sciences," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Till Koebe & Alejandra Arias-Salazar & Timo Schmid, 2023. "Releasing survey microdata with exact cluster locations and additional privacy safeguards," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mujcic, Redzo & Frijters, Paul, 2013. "Still Not Allowed on the Bus: It Matters If You're Black or White!," IZA Discussion Papers 7300, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Anthony Edo & Nicolas Jacquemet & Constantine Yannelis, 2019. "Language skills and homophilous hiring discrimination: Evidence from gender and racially differentiated applications," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 349-376, March.
    3. Bertrand, Jérémie & Burietz, Aurore, 2023. "(Loan) price and (loan officer) prejudice," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 26-42.
    4. Bryson, Alex & Chevalier, Arnaud, 2015. "Is there a taste for racial discrimination amongst employers?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 51-63.
    5. John M. Nunley & Adam Pugh & Nicholas Romero & Richard Alan Seals, Jr., 2014. "Unemployment, Underemployment, and Employment Opportunities: Results from a Correspondence Audit of the Labor Market for College Graduates," Auburn Economics Working Paper Series auwp2014-04, Department of Economics, Auburn University.
    6. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Fabian Mierisch & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2023. "Discrimination on the Child Care Market: A Nationwide Field Experiment," Working Papers 225, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    7. Bart Capéau & Lieve Eeman & Steven Groenez & Miet Lamberts, 2012. "Standardised Scores as a Way to measure and Compare Discrimination Across Dimensions," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2012-022, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. Ganserer, Angelika, 2021. "Non-compliance with temporary agency work regulations: Initial evidence from Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-057, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. J. Michelle Brock & Ralph De Haas, 2023. "Discriminatory Lending: Evidence from Bankers in the Lab," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 31-68, April.
    10. Mathieu Bunel & Yannick L’Horty & Pascale Petit, 2016. "Discrimination based on place of residence and access to employment," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(2), pages 267-286, February.
    11. Mariano Bosch & M. Belen Cobacho, 2012. "Discrimination in second-hand consumer markets: evidence from a field experiment," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(17), pages 1727-1730.
    12. Dileni Gunewardena & Abdoulaye Seck, 2020. "Heterogeneity in entrepreneurship in developing countries: Risk, credit, and migration and the entrepreneurial propensity of youth and women," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 713-725, August.
    13. Utteeyo Dasgupta & Subha Mani & Prakarsh Singh, 2016. "Searching for religious discrimination among Anganwadi workers in India: An experimental investigation," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-69, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Emmanuel K. Yiridoe, 2021. "Fostering a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the Canadian agricultural economics profession," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(1), pages 5-15, March.
    15. Poutvaara, Panu & Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, 2018. "Bitterness in life and attitudes towards immigration," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 471-490.
    16. Phillips, David C., 2017. "Landlords avoid tenants who pay with vouchers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 48-52.
    17. Baert, Stijn & Picchio, Matteo, 2021. "A signal of (Train)ability? Grade repetition and hiring chances," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 867-878.
    18. Maresa Sprietsma, 2013. "Discrimination in grading: experimental evidence from primary school teachers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 523-538, August.
    19. Yann Algan & Clément Malgouyres & Thierry Mayer & Mathias Thoenig, 2022. "The Economic Incentives of Cultural Transmission: Spatial Evidence from Naming Patterns Across France [‘Cultural assimilation during the age of mass migration’]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(642), pages 437-470.
    20. Ulf Rinne, 2018. "Anonymous job applications and hiring discrimination," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-11, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:9:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-022-01239-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.